


Color Theory

by Buried_in_CharCOL



Series: Visible Spectrum [1]
Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Drabbles, F/F, F/M, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, ITS 4 AM AND I CANT SLEEP SO SEND ME PROMPTS, SO I GOTTA BE THE CHANGE I WANNA SEE IN THE WORLD, THERE ISNT ENOUGH FICS IN THE FANDOM, healthy sleep patterns whomst, i'll tag pairings and stuff as i go, no beta we die like men, red crackle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-17 14:36:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17562314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Buried_in_CharCOL/pseuds/Buried_in_CharCOL
Summary: Shouldn't they know by now that red is the color of heroes? That's why she scrapes and scrapes at the black that V.I.L.E. coated her with until she is raw and bleeding red.orThere aren't enough fics in the fandom. It's 4 AM and I can't sleep so I'm gonna write. Send me prompts and/or suggestions to fill the void pls :)(psst i'm open to crossovers)





	1. Heists (Carmen/Grey)

**Author's Note:**

> ⊙︿⊙  
> so i fucking forgot i have a class at 9 am
> 
> too fucking late now bitch might as well crash and burn in a spectacular fashion
> 
> what have i done
> 
> Carmen's dress except red + the accessories she has in that one auction episode:  
> 
> 
> I'm pretty sure yall super detectives can see my refrences from a mile away  
> antonia stark is a queen and shes from RayShippouUchiha's wonderful "The Limitations of Wax" which is part of her "The Components of Construction" series i couldn't resist
> 
> remember to leave prompts at my tumblr or in the comments section  
> Come visit me at my tumblr blue-bronzescarf if you wanna scream about Carmen Sandiego with me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Send me prompts at blue-bronzescarf or put it in the comment section  
> Hope this turns out ok im running on spite and 4 cans of monster

Prompt: 

“Oh, bite me.”

“A dangerous invitation.”

* * *

 

It takes him a while to regain his memories and it takes him longer to regain his skills. But after training and clawing his way back to peak condition, Grey finds that freelance theft is _way_ more profitable and exhilarating than being a backstage electrician.

~~He definitely doesn't keep an eye out for the flashes of scarlet he keeps seeing in the corners of his vision.~~

Grey finds that his old codename tastes like ozone, betrayal, and regret so he decides to change it and not dwell too much on the past. He settles on "Noir" and tries not to think about how sad it is that he doesn't have anyone to explain the joke to.

(Cause his name is Grey and old Noir films are black, white and-)

He knows that a certain lady in red would appreciate it.

The newly dubbed Noir decides on settling on some fairly low-level theft. Not low enough to not make a pretty penny every heist, but not high enough to draw the attention of the big leagues like V.I.L.E. and A.C.M.E. because he's worked too hard to have this memory erased again thank-you-very-much and the law enforcement agency has enough on their hands to worry about besides small fry like him. A new addition to his heist gear is a mask because he'd like to have the tool of anonymity for as long as he can. He spends about two years nabbing a few modern art pieces until he has enough to last him a few years of comfortable living.

He could just retire and live a peaceful life on some tropical island.

But it was never really about the money and Noir never really gets tired of the thrill of the hunt.

~~The crimson woman has nothing to do with it.~~

To change it up a bit, he takes a book out of ~~Black Sheep~~ Carmen's book and starts stealing from under the noses of V.I.L.E. because he's gotten better since they've last encountered him, for all they know he's still memory wiped, consequences be damned, and  ~~~~maybe, just _maybe_ he's hoping that he'll see her again. 

~~Because he remembers her this time.~~

He's not willing to examine that train of thought. Not yet a least.

 

A few heists into his new experiment of his dipping toes into the light side they cross paths - it's a job Budapest that brings them together.

After a stunt by New York's famous It Girl - Antonia Stark - tiaras and crowns become all the rage internationally so of course Countess Cleo wants in on the action in a grand way.

She wants the Holy Crown of Hungary so of course that means that he has to steal it first.

 

And of course everything goes according to plan until the last second when _she_ shows up. He's right there, almost done with the job when she swoops in out of nowhere like a angry phoenix. They fight and after he get's a little cocky she knocks him down with a well-aimed back hook kick. She's pinned him to the ground and rips off the mask in annoyance because who the hell is the cocky new guy who keeps shooting off quips in a friggin' fight?

The last time she saw that face was in Sydney and he looked at her with eyes empty of recognition, but now they're full of memories and shared history.

She drops the mask.

Taking advantage of her momentary distraction, Noir kicks her off and makes a quick getaway.

She doesn't chase after him.

~~He tries not to think about it.~~

Carmen's not exactly surprised to find out on the news a few weeks later that the Holy Crown was miraculously found in an exhibit case at the Smithsonian Museum all the way in Washington, D.C. but she's definitely happy that her gut feeling that something in him had changed was correct. (After his escape with the crown, she got am earful from Player, Ivy, and Zack.)

 

They meet again heist after heist and they make it into a friendly competition of who can save the most relics and artifacts and who can swindle V.I.L.E. into spending money on good charities. Sometimes they race to see who can complete the job fastest and sometime they find themselves fighting back-to-back when V.I.L.E. operatives are a little tougher than usual that day.

Player, Ivy, and Zack aren't really sure how to react to this new development.

 

Their latest meeting takes place at a charity gala for impoverished children in East Asia where unfortunately a certain crime syndicate has made plans to steal the multi-trillion dollar Toussaint diamond necklace of the actress Daphne Kluger. 

Like all of their encounters, it isn't planned.

Dressed to the nines, Grey spots Carmen across the ballroom and he stops short at the sight of her.

She looks like a greek goddess - Hestia of the hearth in her fiery glow. Wavy auburn hair in a high bun, she wears her signature choker and earrings, and her dress is simple yet elegant.

Like a moth to the flame, he find himself moving across the crowd towards her. Wordlessly, he offers Carmen his hand and her crimson lips curl into a slight grin as he leads her to the center of the room with the other dancers.

It's a slow song.

After a while of swaying to the music, Grey's words finally find him, "We've got to stop meeting on the job, Sandiego." He says with a light laugh.

She chuckles, "No, you like it too much when we end up fighting each other or someone else. It's like a date to you."

"What can I say," Grey quips, "I love the kind of woman that can kick my ass."

She smirks, "Oh, bite me."

“A dangerous invitation.”

A soft blush blooms over her cheeks.

~~He wonders if her lipstick tastes as sweet as it looks.~~

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come join the red crackle discord: https://discord.gg/4xF6nyE


	2. Familiar Warmth (Carmen/Grey)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "What if Carmen DID walk across the street to meet Grey at the end of the Australia episode and snippets of Carmen and Grey's life after?"
> 
> Part 1 of ?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wassup babes after i posted the first chapter i crashed h a r d  
> it's 1 pm and I just woke up  
> (lll-ω-)
> 
> This is gonna be multipart because ya girl got too caught up in her own head for this one.  
> They didn't give my boi a last name so I had to give him one.
> 
>  
> 
> [Me every time ya'll leave a comment or suggestion](https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/915d2f2d-1965-4e2d-ae43-6838dc579dd0)

Despite the odd gap in memory, Graham "Grey" Smith could say with confidence that he lived an absolutely normal, mundane life.

He followed a routine that never changed and he never wavered from. Every morning he would wake up at six to get ready for his electrician job at the Sydney Opera House, go for a morning run, order a ham and swiss croissant with black coffee from his favorite cafe, spend the rest of the day at his workplace, grab a bite to eat at the nearby  _banh mi_ food truck during lunch break, and then finally he would crash at home after eating dinner at the local Indian place. The routine provided him with an anchor - a way to go on autopilot and help him not dwell too much on the lost time he could never remember. Trying too hard left him with a killer migraine which only meant that he had to waste money to buy Tylenol. 

 ~~~~He wasn't sure what to make of the faint sensation of static on the tip of his tongue or the barely-there memory of red like aftertaste of a glass of 1787 _Chateau Margaux._ Like the wine, the fading echo of crimson felt... old, expensive, precious, and wasted.

~~Don't ask him how he knew what the wine tasted like because he really didn't remember how or why he did.~~

After a while, Grey settled on simply letting go of the past because if he didn't remember it, it probably didn't matter right?

* * *

That changed when he met the odd woman backstage.

She looked like an actress - all long dark curls, hidden face, and figure wrapped into a flowing red coat. He would've passed by her without a second - probably a model girlfriend of one of the actors - if she wasn't clearly sneaking around. He sighed, pretty or not, he was going to have to tell her to leave since there was expensive equipment in the dark that she might trip on or somehow get herself hurt.

When Grey approached her, he froze when her eyes met his.

They were a stormy, tumultuous grey that reminded him of the pier during a typhoon - threatening to drag him under and drown him completely. Despite her icy glare, he saw that there was a blazing inferno behind her gaze as if he had wronged her by simply existing.

The warmth of the fire felt familiar like he had once known both the comfort of it - the kindness of the hearth of a childhood home - and the wrath of it - the uncontrollable fury of a wildfire.

The woman looked at him with familiarity and asked him a series of confusing questions that threatened to trigger for another migraine which was  _not_ something he needed on a busy night so forgive him for being a little for brusque with her than necessary.

Eventually, she realized that he wasn't the person she thought he was.  ~~~~The way her face dropped made him upset and disappointed in a way he couldn't understand.

As he led her to the exit she gave him a curious look, "You... really don't remember me?"

He stopped in his tracks and gave her another once over to amuse her  ~~like he hadn't already checked her out.~~

"Fashion statement aside, mate, you'd be hard to forget."

As they continued walking, he aimed a playful smirk at her, "If there is a next time, I promise not to make that mistake again."

The woman looked at him with curiosity in her eyes where there was once hostility like she knew something that he didn't. Her ruby lips quirked up, "Guess you just, uh, remind me of someone I used to know."

Grey wondered what that poor bastard had done to deserve her ire as he held the door open for her, "Well, I have one of those faces. Enjoy the show."

He walked away quickly before he could think too much about how walking away from her felt _uncomfortably_ familiar.

Grey kicked himself when he realized that he didn't ask her number.

* * *

A few hours into his shift, a weird power surge or _something_ fried the soundboard towards the end of the show. He groaned as he realized that he'd have to show up early in the morning to fix it before the next performance. 

There goes his off day of binge watching  _The Good Place._ Alone.

He made himself a mental checklist: _Note to self, buy a cat or something so you start your life as a lonely catlady. (Is catlady a gender-neutral term? Catman? Catguy???)_

He packed his stuff up and began the late-night walk home.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come and scream with me about Carmen Sandiego at my tumblr blue-bronzescarf <3
> 
> Next chapter is gonna be the late-night meeting and the cafe date.
> 
> I'm breaking this prompt into several parts cause I wanna do it good
> 
> P.S.  
> come join the red crackle discord if you wanna cry about grey and carmen: https://discord.gg/4xF6nyE


	3. Cat Scratches (Carmen/Tigress)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gotta love the "I can't tell if I wanna rip your throat out or kiss you senseless" trope  
> -insert why not both meme-  
> ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya'll didn't ask for this but I did so...  
> I had to give Sheena a last name so why not that of a Russian mobster

 

Prompt: 

“I hate you, just so you know.”

“Oh,  _darling_ , you break my heart.”

“You don’t have a heart to break.”

* * *

 

Contrary to the popular assumption, Sheena Mikhailov did in fact not hate Black Sheep.

They were on opposing sides for sure, and Sheena had far too much fun goading and taunting the other woman. However, there wasn't much maliciousness behind her actions.

For her, their back-and-forth was more of a game - an intricate dance. She liked to think that every kick, every punch, and every sweep of the leg was just another part of their dangerous waltz. She like to imagine that it something not dissimilar to a courtship.

Sheena's favorite dances with Carmen were when she was flush with anger. The way the rosy color practically illuminated her face and the way the sweat from her exertion made the woman glowleft her _breathless_. (The wailing punches and strikes also left her breathless.) When Black Sheep's red lips twisted into a snarl, Tigress liked to imagine her pearly whites clamped around her neck tight enough to crush her throat. When her gloved claws caught Carmen cheek  _just right_ she loved watching the way that the rivulets of blood crawled steadily down her face. She wanted to lick it off her.

(You don't need to tell Sheena how much of a freak she is. She knows.)

Sheena would be lying if she said that she was never envious of how Carmen's voice softened when she talked to the unknown voice over her earpiece. If she had left V.I.L.E. with the other woman, would her stormy eyes look at her with the same warm affection? Would her delicate hands hold her own with a same tenderness that they held those of the red-headed siblings? When she begins to spiral into "what ifs" and "if onlys" Tigress has to stop and remind herself that Carmen was the one who decided to leave  ~~her~~ the organization behind.

For now, Sheena is happy with the way things are between them. They fight _viciously, deliciously_   with blood and feral anger. And then they part ways usually with Carmen as the victor. She's not really surprised at the outcome and can't bring herself to care as long as they don't wipe her like poor Crackle.

Sheena likes to think that Black Sheep sees their interactions in the same way. But during one of their spats, the other woman shatters her carefully crafted fantasy.

Carmen breaks the usual silence (aside from the regular noises of battle) between them when she bares her teeth at Tigress after she lands a particularly hard blow to the sternum.

The other woman looks her dead in the eye and growls, "I hate you, just so you know.”

In her shock, the platinum blonde laughs, “Oh,  _darling_ , you break my heart.” She hopes the scarlet thief can't tell how genuine her statement is.

Carmen shakes her head and for a small moment Sheena lets herself feel an ounce of hope.

“You don’t have a heart to break.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :) i love my furry murder daughter  
> Not pictured: Sheena being emo afterwards and eating a whole tub of Ben and Jerry's while the Goat Gay and the Mole Gay comfort her.
> 
> Come scream about Carmen Sandiego with me on my tumblr blue-bronzescarf


	4. Soft Sheets (Carmen/Ivy)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's about time I wrote some Soft Girlfriends™

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm giving you a look filled with judgement if you thought the title "Soft Sheets" meant anything excepting comfy, cozy beds.

Prompt:

“I don’t need to go to bed, I’m not tired, I’ll be fine.”

“But, darling, I’ll be so lonely without you. Come curl up in my arms so I can feel whole again.”

“O-oh. Well. Are you trying to seduce me into healthy sleeping patterns?”

“Is it working?”

* * *

If you examined Ivy and Carmen's relationship with assumptions and preconceived notions, you'd probably guess that the dashing Scarlet Thief on Interpol's Most Wanted List would be the bolder one between the two. 

This theory would be incorrect.

Despite being the woman more likely to hop rooftop to rooftop while evading law enforcement, Carmen was also the more sheltered partner when it came to matters concerning romance. You don't exactly get a lot of relationship advice when your parents are busy running an international crime syndicate. On the bright side though, you also don't get judgement from any of your five guardians when you come to the realization that you like both boys and girls.

Six if you count Cookie Booker and eight if you count the Cleaners.

(They were more like the weird, distant Aunt and Uncles though.)

* * *

 

And if you were wondering, Carmen's Realization™ happened when at the age of fourteen she got developed a crush on Adora (Warrior) the top graduate of her class and then Steven (Diamond) the kind, silver-tongued negotiator who made sure to sneak her ice cream sandwiches every so often after her first crush gently rejected her.

~~Diamond also rejected her, but that wasn't the point.~~

* * *

Ivy, however, could only be described as an incorrigible flirt once they got together.

The redhead loved it when she teased and complimented Carmen until her flaming cheeks were the same hue as her iconic hat and coat. Honestly, it was simply  _too easy_ to rile the other girl up. Even corny pick-up lines worked on the Great Carmen Sandiego.

Ivy's favorite new game was dropping lines over the com while Carmen was busy trying to carry out a heist or job.

_"If being sexy was a crime, you would be on FBI's most wanted list."_

_"Is your dad a thief? Because he stole all of the stars in the sky and put them in your eyes."_

_"Are you lost ma'am? Because heaven is a long way from here."_

" _My lips are like skittles. Wanna taste the rainbow?"_

_"Are you a parking ticket? ‘Cause you’ve got fine written all over you."_

Much to Ivy's endless delight, Carmen would simply melt at her corny-ass attempts at flirting. There were several instances where a confused Agent Devineaux faced off with a thief suddenly doing her best to imitate the color of a boiled lobster.

If he was anywhere nearby, Zack would busy himself by gagging on their diabetes-inducing sweetness.

Disgusting.

* * *

It could not be said that Ivy always used her romantic prowess for evil. She also used it to check Carmen when she became too caught up in her own schemes.

Before they started dating, it was not unusual for Sandiego to go for more than twenty-four hours without sleep when she got into the groove of planning out the next heist.

Now, the redhead would lure her girlfriend to bed using any means necessary. She would ensure that the brunette got at least four hours of sleep even if it meant that was the last thing she ever did.

* * *

 

That is how they ended up in the position of Ivy wrapped up in about three layers of warm blankets on the queen-sized bed while Carmen sat at the hotel room's desk, papers and maps scattered around her.

Far beyond the limitations of spoken language, the woman in bed began to open and close her fists in the classic "grabby hands" motion towards direction of the brunette at the table.

Without looking up, Carmen broke through silence of the room, “I don’t need to go to bed, I’m not tired, I’ll be fine.”

Ivy realized it was time to turn on her superpower.

She whined in a sing-song voice, “But, darling, I’ll be so lonely without you. Come curl up in my arms so I can feel whole again.”

The redhead smirked from the long pause that indicated her girlfriend's sudden flustered state.

“O-oh. Well. Are you trying to seduce me into healthy sleeping patterns?” She  _lived_ for that little stutter.

Already knowing the answer she asked, “Is it working?”

Judging from Carmen's running jump onto the bed and the tan arms encircling her waist to pull her closer, Ivy's scheme worked.

 _Score_ she thought to herself.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soft gorls, soft beds, soft sleep
> 
> just gals bein pals


End file.
